A woman who has helped lead a ‘Bringing Killerton Park to Life’ project has been named as one of three finalists for a Historic England Angel Award.

Fi Hailstone, 24, who lives on Exmoor, is celebrating being named one of three finalists in the ‘Best contribution to a heritage project by a young person’ category of this year’s prestigious Historic England Angel Awards.

Fi has lead on the ‘Bringing Killerton Park to life’ project for the National Trust in Devon. Under Fi’s leadership the project has seen the historic parkland at Killerton transform, with historic monuments no longer at risk and inspiring views opened up.

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The parkland is much more accessible and volunteers, staff and visitors at Killerton have been enthused by the stories that have unravelled from the parkland since the project began. As part of this project the story of the lost stately home of Killerton was also discovered.

Fi Hailstone said: “I feel incredibly lucky to have helped to revive the landscape around Killerton, it’s such a special place. When you start thinking about heritage a walk is never the same, so I hope that by revealing some of the parkland’s hidden gems more people will explore and discover Killerton’s stories.”

Phillip Smart, General Manager at Killerton said, ‘It’s fantastic that Fi’s hard work has been recognised by Historic England. The work she has done at Killerton was complex but it has added an extra dimension for visitors to Killerton. As well as this, she led our volunteers along this journey of discovery to find out the story of lost Killerton.”

Fi Hailstone who has been nominated for an award

Andrew Lloyd Webber said: “I’m delighted to champion the people who protect the precious buildings and places around us. Everyone who has been shortlisted for an Historic England Angel Award has made a significant difference to our landscape and built environment. Congratulations to all of them! This year I am especially pleased that we are crowning an overall UK winner for the first time, showcasing the crucial work that is being done across the country by local heritage heroes.”

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England added: “I am always impressed by the tireless commitment shown by our Angel Award nominees working together to care for our shared heritage. The variety of this year’s shortlists proves there are so many different ways to engage with our rich legacy of historic buildings and places and as ever, the judging panel will have their work cut out to choose the winners. It is essential that we champion the volunteers and heritage professionals whose work ensures we can continue to enjoy England’s wonderful historic sites for generations to come.”

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While the four category winners will be decided by a panel of expert judges, each project is now seeking the public’s support to win a further award. All 12 shortlisted projects – three per category - are in the running for the Historic England Followers’ and Telegraph Readers’ Favourite award chosen solely by the public.

Voting is now open. Cast your vote at HistoricEngland.org.uk/AngelAwards. Voting closes on November 5 2017. The winners will be announced and presented with their awards at a glittering ceremony at the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London on 20 November 2017.